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Saturday, November 14, 2015

I've decided it is time to make my Total Money Makeover a total commitment! If I want to move myself toward debt-free living I need to make some changes and some new commitments!

Recently I was catching up on The BudgetingDiaries series over at Our Life On A Budget (one of my favorite blogs)… I am enjoying these series because it not only shows the deals, or the frugal life-hacks, it also allows me to meet people and learn their stories and their lifestyles. Learning about the "who" behind the "what" and "why" has been a great help in the motivation department!

7 Ways I Am Committing To My Total Money Makeover!

(1)Not Sacrificing My Mental Health for My
Financial HealthThis one has been (and likely will
continue to be) a struggle for me.As I
mentioned in my last post, I have been struggling with some issues relating to
depression and anxiety.I have
determined that my second job is no longer a good fit for me, and I have taken
an indefinite leave of absence.In the
short term this means some back-stepping financially, but I am committed to
looking at the big picture, and not allowing myself to feel guilty about what I
know was a necessary decision.I am also
committed to not allowing myself to allow the price-tag to keep me away from
proper mental health treatment.

(2)Simple ChristmasI am committed to not spending money I
can’t afford on Christmas.

(3)HomecookingI am committed to cooking at home.To making packed lunches for work.To skipping the fast-food and the coffee
stops.

(4)Charity

I am committed to supporting charities in
accordance with my values and my budget.

I am committed to my Lilla Rose business.I am committed to working this
business to extent allowed by my career and to growing it into a valuable
income.

(6)Order and Organization

I am committed to growing in order and
organization. Neither of these virtues come naturally to me.I am committed to learning to better order my
time and space to best use these resources for my overall financial good.

(7)Purging

I am committed to sorting and purging excess
goods in a way which will benefit me financially (and help with #6).This may include bringing books to a used
bookstore, donating items to charity, consigning clothing, or selling things
online.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Pope Francis has taken over my internet! When you attended a Catholic college, have friends working at Catholic schools and universities, an follow Catholic bloggers... I guess you should just be prepared for everyone to head to Philadelphia and see the Pope. Since I am not speaking at the World Meeting of Families, attending Mass in Madison Square Garden or anything else equally motivating - I thought that for my seven quick takes I would share some fun (mostly non-Pope related) links from throughout the interwebs to make you smile. So here you are... 7 quick smiles :)

(2) These awesome Halloween costumes - and the Dad who created an entire company dedicated to building even more of them!

(3) Pope Francis stopping his car, to greet a child with cerebral palsy in Philadelphia (c'mon I said mostly not about the Pope).

(4) The excitement of these children who got to greet Pope Francis upon his arrival to Harlem!

I love their attitude and the facts they share about him - his love of soccer, stamp collecting etc. (Having trouble posting the video, but watch it!!)

(5) The dedication of a local school in memory of a recent military hero.So often we see schools named for heroes from generations past, this school was named for a recent hero. A man who died less than 6 years ago after sustaining injuries in Afghanistan, and whose parents and family members were able to attend the dedication.

(7) PYO Number 7 is pick your own smiles :) This is for the little thing that made you smile throughout the week... I am probably missing some but there were many more things from the internet world that made me smile this week - the newly announced flexi styles from Lilla Rose, the viral video of a little girl demanding her newly-divorced parents stay friends, lots of great pictures from friends attending weddings, and last (but totally not least) this awesome apple butter recipe I plan to try next week!

Monday, September 21, 2015

If you are a fan of Dave Ramsey, and know what it means to "live like no one else so later you can live like no one else," I am certain you know the significance of rice and beans!

Dave talks about being in gazelle mode, cutting all expenses to the minimum. Cutting your grocery budget down to rice and beans, beans and rice, rice and beans.

I am trying to get there. I quickly realized that a $50/month grocery budget was very unrealistic. I created a meal plan which could feed me for around that much money (I believe it consisted of pasta, canned tomatoes and eggs). But I was hungry, cranky, and craving other foods.

But it is time to cut back and so I needed to find a few "rice and beans" meals. What are things I can eat cheap, cheap, cheap so that some of my grocery money can become debt busting money instead! What can I eat beyond just rice and beans without breaking the bank.

Rice-And-Beans Budget Meal Ideas:

(1) Rice and beans

Can't overlook the classic!

(2) Pasta with tomatoes

I just use canned tomatoes in place of sauce.

(3) Leftover Soup

Make a soup using all the leftover veggies, scraps etc. you have from past meals.

(4) Canned Soup

Sometimes even canned soup can get pricey, watch for sales! I was able to get 12 cans of the Campbell's Homestyle soups for $11 this week at Stop and Shop. Perfect for work lunches.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

As is usually the case work has been a big part of my life of late.. but its not the only thing I have been up to.

Prayer Life

Over the last several years prayer and faith have definitely been an up and down road for me. I am fortunate to have found a few great resources to my faith life lately!

XLT at St. Mary's Church - Westfield MA I have attended this monthly event twice (despite being listed under Youth Ministry my friends and I were far from the only adults there, and certainly not the oldest by far). The first time I attended, the speaker really said the words my heart needed to hear!

Modesty for the Modern Mom - FB Group I have been a long (albeit inconsistent) reader of Caroline Allen's The Modest Mom Blog, recently I decided - despite not being a mom - to join her new private group on Facebook. I expected the group would be a fun way to see outfit ideas, but it has also been a huge encouragement to me from a faith perspective!

Bible Study - Any Ideas?

I am entertaining the idea of beginning a young adult women's Bible Study at my house? Does anyone have any suggestions for a good Bible study for young-adult women (loosely defined as post college age around mid-20s to early 30s). My group of girl friends are currently all unmarried and none have children, though it could expand to include married women as we enter those stages of our lives and/or invite others. I am thinking it might be interesting to focus on Christian role models, both Biblical women and saints. The study does not need to be distinctly Catholic, but we would like one that is in line with Catholic teaching, if anyone has any resources please let me know!

Budget Life

I am definitely still not in gazelle mode, but I have been trying to be conscious of my budget. I posted the figures of my total debt paid off since July 2014 as well as my current remaining debt on my fridge for motivation, and today I am FINALLY starting Financial Peace University at a local church. I signed up last year but it was cancelled by the church that was supposed to host it last time. I am hoping this will help me be a lot more intentional with my spending.

Have you participated in FPU? Do you have any suggestions to help me in my debt-free journey? I am totally understanding what Dave Ramsey says when he talks about becoming debt free as being about behavior not knowledge. I know how to coupon, budget, save money etc. but it is in the DOING where I sometimes have trouble. What suggestions do you have for maintaining motivation?

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

So I have discussed a bit about my goal of a Total Money Makeover and the ultimate goal of becoming debt free before - so I thought it was time for a little update for anyone who might be interested! Status:The ultimate status is that I am not doing so hot, definitely haven't been in gazelle mode.

The Bad:

* On a plateau - definitely not in gazelle mode * Struggling with a food budget - my grocery budget is in check, my penchant for getting fast food on my lunch break or the break between my two jobs is not.* I quit my second job - not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely affects my abilities to take on the baby steps.

* No snowballing or extra payments

The Good:*I have been cash flowing everything, no additional debts

* I became a consultant with Lilla Rose - hoping to use this to generate some side income which I can apply toward my debt free goal!

*Received a promotion (and pay raise) at work

Goals:

* Use the time previously spent at my second job to support long-term financial goals.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Yes, I disappeared again. But now.... I'm back! I would say "I really do plan to blog this time," but umm, been there, said that. (I really do plan to this time but, no promises!).

So... while I was busy not blogging, what have I been up to?

(1) Working!
I still work a lot. In the past few months I received a promotion, quit my second job, and became a consultant with Lilla Rose so work pretty much is my life at the moment.

(2) Reading

I am still a big fan of reading, but I still don't do it as often as I used to.

(3) Planning

In making the decision to give up my second job, I wanted to be careful not to simply spend the extra 20-ish hours a week lounging around my apartment or wasting time. I decided that despite the income they bring in, the hours spent at my second job simply weren't adding value to my life, so I decided to figure out what I COULD do with that time that would improve my life. I've decided to focus on a few key areas -

Personal Wellness - Mind, Body and Spirit

Professional Development

Hospitality

(4) "Wellness Hour"

Wellness has been a bit of a struggle for me of late, and I know that all areas of my health, not just physical but also mental and emotional can really use some work. The biggest thing I've decided is to start implementing a daily "wellness hour." I am planning to put this into effect as soon as I am down to one job, by dedicating the first hour after I get out of work to doing something to support one or more of the areas of wellness i.e. walking, going to the gym, attending daily Mass etc.

Hmm... and now a few around the web quick takes of things which made me laugh, smile and think in the past few weeks:

(5) God Bless the White & Gray

Sisters' got talent!

(6) Baby Quinoa

I always enjoy reading The Penny Hoarder, to get ideas on how to make and save money and continue (admittedly half-heartedly of late) my frugal lifestyle and TMMO attempts. This post on how to get $10,000 by naming your child Quinoa made me laugh!

(7) This Video
Yes, this is a video about Magic Mike. Yes, it is a PG-rate movie. Yes, I am aware I just linked up to a Catholic blogger link-up with a post about Magic Mike. Yes, Channing Tatum is handsome.

Friday, May 1, 2015

If you haven't caught on yet from the frequency of their inclusion in my recent quotes posts, I like saints. What can I say, I'm Catholic? As a Catholic I see the saints as role models to help us in our faith journey, but I also know that the concept of saints is something which separates Catholic & Orthodox Christians from most of our Protestant friends. While some liturgical Protestants (Lutherans and Anglicans most notably) do have saints, the role is still a bit different. So here are a few quick takes about the saints, hopefully it can bring some understanding for my non-Catholic/Orthodox readers and also inspire some of those cradle Catholics who already consider themselves quite knowledgeable :)

(1) Who ARE the saints?The term "saint" (as used in the Nicene or Apostle's creeds) simply refers to all of the people in heaven. All of them, even your grandma. Saint with a capital S, refers to a particular saint who has been canonized in the Church.

(2) Intercession of Saints"Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness... They do not cease to intercede to the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 956

(3) Icons

"The icons of the saints act as a meeting point between the living members of the Church [Miltant] on Earth and the Saints who have passed on to the church [Triumpant] in Heaven. The Saints depicted on the Icons are not remote legendary figures from the past, but contemporary, personal friends. As meeting points between Heaven and Earth, the Icons... constantly remind the faithful of the invisible presence of the whole company of Heaven; they visibly express the idea of Heaven on earth."-From a monk at St. Tikhon's Abbey in The Holy Orthodox Church: Her Life and Teachings(4) Veneration" Basing itself on the mystery of the Incarnate Word, the seventh eceumenical council at Nicea (787) justified... the veneration of icons - of Christ, but also the Mother of God, the angels, and all of the saints... Indeed 'the honor rendered to an image renders to its prototype,' and 'whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.' The honor paid to sacred images is a 'respectful veneration' not the adoration due to God alone." - CCC 2131-2132 (5) Saints Point Us Toward GodReligious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate. The movement toward the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends toward that whose image it is.- Summa Theologica(6) Heaven RejoicesEveryone in heaven is concerned about our repentance & salvation. "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:7, NIV)"There is rejoicing in the presence of angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) (7) Patron Saints"The patron saint provides a model of charity and an assurance of his prayer." -CCC 2165Linked Up At:This Ain't The Lyceum, The Modest Mom Blog

Thursday, April 23, 2015

What is the advantage to me being back here on the letter R, while others are preparing their U posts to debut in a few short hours? I get to write a post about reading books... on World Book Day!

In celebration of World Book Day and my love for reading, I thought I would share a few of my favorite books from over the years. I am intentionally being a bit vague with plots and descriptions, so that you will be able to go and enjoy the books if you choose. I would love to hear about your favorite books in the comments as well!

For Little Ones

When it comes to books for kids (and no I don't have any) I love books with great illustrations! They make such fun read aloud options. Here are a couple favorites -

Strega Nona was one of my childhood favorites. I love Tomie de Paola's illustrations! They are detailed, yet somehow simple and classic.

I absolutely LOVE the illustrations in Jan Brett's books. I first fell in love with her books back in kindergarten when my teacher read The Mitten to our class, and then we colored in our own mittens and animals to reenact the story. I still remember the activity some twenty years out of kindergarten, and actually found the printables online so I could do it at the after school program I ran! For Not Quite So Little Ones

I received a copy of A Little Princess when I was about nine or so from my library's summer reading book. I devoured it. It was (and still is) my favorite book! I loved the interesting names of characters like Ermengarde and Melchisedic, I learned about history as Sara's imagination transformed her attic garret into the Bastille, and I simply got enveloped in the life of this little-girl-who-was-not-a-beggar.

For Grown Ones Of course, the kids shouldn't be the only ones busy reading. Most of my fiction reads are historical fiction and things I find free on Amazon. Here are some of the other books I recommend:

When I attended the Los Angeles Religious Ed Congress several years ago I was told by the teachers I was staying with that I had to go to Greg Boyle, SJ's talk. When I went to the talk I had to buy his book. Greg started his parish ministry in Dolores Mission in LA, and went on to find Homeboy Industries, a (remarkably successful) ministry to gang members. This is their story. A story of heartbreak, compassion, love and lots of grace.

I figured I would throw in a fiction book as well, just in case someone is looking for a good read. Plain Truth is actually the only Jodi Picoult book I've ever read start to finish. Something about trying to solve a murder in Amish Country is just so surreal it drew me in!

Friday, April 17, 2015

Since we can't just eat lasagna all the time, I thought I would share few of my other favorite meals that I have found to be perfect for single living.

One-Pot/Skillet Pastas

When you think of a skillet and a mish-mash of ingredients do you immediately think stir-fry? WeIll for me, it is all about what I like to call "skillet pastas." Prepare your pasta as normal, then in a skillet or saute pan heat oil and whatever other ingredients you want mixed in with your pasta. Combine, stir and eat! To save on dishes, you can simply combine ingredients right in the same pan you boiled the noodles in (I simply pour the ingredients in to the pan while my noodles are in a colander then add the noodles back in and stir). Some of my favorite ingredients to toss in include tomatoes (canned or fresh), olives, frozen spinach, and garlic. If you are looking for a more unusual recipe check out this fun jewel pasta recipe from one my favorite food blogs, Budget Bytes.

Mini-Eggplant/Chicken Parmesans

I am in love with these yummy eggplant cutlets that I found at Trader Joe's.

The whole box costs less than three dollars (more than a fresh eggplant, but way less per serving than a frozen eggplant parm entrée). I simply top the cutlet with sauce and some cheese, heat and voila eggplant parm. If you're more of a meat eater the same approach can be taken with chicken patties or breaded chicken cutlets for a chicken parmesan version.

Omelets & Scrambles

Eggs are another great resource for single-living. They keep awhile in the fridge, so you don't need to worry about a dozen going bad on you. They also come to us already appropriately portioned straight from nature, simply take as many eggs as you like and cook. Prepare them any way you like but my favorite is scrambling them up with salsa, veggies, or breakfast sausage.

Grilled Sandwiches & Panini

No one can argue that a simple sandwich is a perfect meal when you're crunched for time or money. After a while though ham and cheese on whole wheat can get a little boring. I have found that grilling my sandwiches or cooking them on my Panini press, makes them a lot more enjoyable! Somehow the simple fact of heating the sandwich makes it feel less like a grade school sack lunch, and more like a meal. I also try to elevate the sandwiches with some more unusual (but not necessarily expensive) ingredients, something which works very well when the sandwich gets heated and everything melts together! Shredded cheese? Salsa? Sliced avocado? Chunky canned tomatoes?

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Did you check out my post about the challenges of being Frugal, Hungry, and Single? Are you too struggling with the stresses of cooking for a small household while trying (or needing) to stick to a tight budget?

May I present... lasagna for one. After all, who doesn't love lasagna?

The great thing about this lasagna, is there is no wrong way to make it! Lasagna for one isn't about the recipe but the method of preparation, so if you have a family favorite lasagna recipe - do it up! I love my grandma's lasagna and she says her recipe came from the back of the Mueller's box. If you need a lasagna recipe check out this one from "my grandma" (aka the folks at Mueller!)

What is the secret to lasagna for one? Loaf pans. Simple, aluminum (disposable) loaf pans!

Once you have enough layers to fill the pan, your lasagna is done! Now it is time to wrap those pans up nice and freezer tight, and you have some yummy lasagna ready for the freezer! I used about a pound and a half of meat, 2 cups of cheese, and a box of noodles which yielded 3 loaf pan size lasagnas. I had lots of extra noodles however, so next time I plan to either boil only half a box of noodles, or add some veggies into meat mixture to bulk it up!

This post is part of my "Frugal Food" series, be sure to check out:Frugal, Hungry and Single - my intro to the challenges of cooking for one on a budget

Friday, April 10, 2015

When looking at the AtoZ blogging challenge for this year, I considered doing a quotes version with daily quotes by various famous and not so famous people that I liked and which had inspired me. I (obviously) changed my mind, and decided to go eclectic instead. But today is the exception as the biggest quote which stood out to me was one by Elie Wiesel about indifference. Since I <3 quotes here are the words of Mr. Wiesel as well as several other quotes I thought worth sharing.

(1) Indifference

The opposite of love is not hate, its indifference.The opposite of art is not ugliness, its indifference.The opposite of faith is not heresy, its indifference.

And the opposite of life is not death, its indifference.

-Elie Wiesel

(2) (More) Indifference

The most deadly poison of our times is indifference.

- St. Maximillian Kolbe

(3) Simplicity

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all. -

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

(4) Love

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts there can be no more hurt, only more love.

- Mother Teresa

(5) Suffering

Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.

-Elie Wiesel, Night

(6) Challenges

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

(7) Habits

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not a virtue but a habit.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

This isn't a post about exercise. In fact, if you're at the gym - get back on the treadmill. I repeat, get back on the treadmill!

But what if you aren't on a literal treadmill? What if - like me - you're on a figurative treadmill?

What if you find yourself going nowhere fast? What if you're not going "nowhere" but you aren't really going "somewhere" either?

What if you want to be great, but you find yourself stuck at good?

What if you just find yourself stuck? In your career, in your personal life, in your health, your relationships, your faith?

Well, then maybe you're just like me. Ready to get off the treadmill. Ready to move. Really move. Move forward.

After all - the hare didn't win the race. Are you better off building speed and running full throttle on a treadmill? Or are you better off slowing down a bit in order to get off the treadmill and start running (or maybe just jogging) down the road?

Interested in seeing just HOW I plan to get off the treadmill? - Check out my follow up post, Just Kick It In Gear.

Like I said the other day in my post about couponing at CVS, I am one of those people who likes couponing. I am usually pretty good with grocery and household purchases. Yet, since moving on my own I have found keeping a food budget quite challenging!I thought shopping for one would be easy. After all, I am not feeding multiple people or caring for a big house, and I don't have a gaggle of teenagers or a house full of babies and picky toddlers. But single living brings its own challenges, here are a few I encountered (and some solutions).

Challenges of Cooking for One:

Recipes – While
they can be adjusted relatively easily, most recipes are not designed for one
person and need to be altered.

Time – Single
people often find their time stretched in different ways than non-single
people.While I certainly don’t have as
many responsibilities as I will when/if I have a spouse and family, my life as
someone living alone is much less “home-based,” than it would be if I were
living with family or even roommates.I
work multiple jobs, and all of my fellowship and family support is found
outside of my home. A lot of times that means my food budget is spent on drive- through meals and quick convenience foods.

Waste - When you’re cooking for one food waste can
be a big issue.I have had fruit rot and
yogurt mold before I could finish containers, and have tried my hand at batch
cooking only to discover that I disliked the recipe or grew bored of the meal
before I finished it.

Cost Saving
Strategies Don’t Always Apply - When you’re cooking for one person, buying
in bulk is out for perishable items.Sure the cost per unit is less, but that doesn’t save you money when you
simply can’t use the items before they will spoil.The same can be true with Buy One Get One
(or Two) sales.

Overcoming the Challenges:

Batch Cook Basics
– If you are set on batch cooking, stick with basic items.Cook a chicken, broccoli and rice casserole
on Sunday night and you may easily be bored of it by Wednesday.Bake some plain chicken breasts and you can
have baked chicken and veggies one night, a chicken sandwich for lunch one
afternoon and countless other meals throughout the week.

Buy (Semi) Bulk of
Things That Keep – It goes without saying, that non-perishables and paper
products can be bought in bulk regardless of household size, but what about
other items?While buying warehouse
size packages of most perishable items is not the best idea for single-person
households, there are some fresh produce items which keep well, and come in
“semi” bulk packages.While I would
never buy a restaurant size package of apples or carrots, I can confidently buy
things like 10 lb. bags of potatoes or large quantities of easily-freezable
bananas.

Buy Just What You
Need for Things That Don’t – For the things which spoil quickly like fresh
greens buy just what you intend to use in the next few days.For fresh salad I often stop at my grocery’s
salad bar.While the cost per pound is
significantly higher than regular produce, I am able to get a variety of salad
veggies which I otherwise probably wouldn’t buy for just one person, and I
don’t have to worry about anything going bad before it is eaten.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Today I am combining my participation in the AtoZ blogging challenge with participation in one of my favorite weekly linkups - 7 Quick Takes Friday. I decided pretty easily that letter "D" would be debt. After all I have been reading Dave Ramsey, and I aspire to be debt free. Then I realized that right now, I have been far from gazelle intense toward that goal. I don't have one of those inspiring "getting out of debt" stories that I like to read on other peoples blogs. But my letter D is still debt....

In one of his talks Dave discusses debt from a Biblical perspective, reminding us that debt is not a salvation issue, it is not something to send us to Hell, but still the Bible has nothing good to say about debt! So for my inspiration and yours, here we have 7 quick takes on things the Bible does say about debt!

(1) Proverbs 22:7

"The borower is slave to the lender."

(2) Proverbs 6

"If you have put up security for a neighbor... free yourself like a gazelle from the hands of the hunter."

(3) Psalm 37:21"The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives."

(4) Romans 13:8

"Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who has loved his neighbor has fulfilled the law."

(5) Deuteronomy 15:6 & 28:12"You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow."

(6) Ecclesiastes 5:5

"It is better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay."

Friday, April 3, 2015

It is of little surprise to folks who know me in real life that I like to coupon. I like saving money, watching others save money on Extreme Couponers. Mostly I like the puzzle of seeing how I can use these coupons to get the best deal possible on my stuff. I am far from being an extreme coupon-er or joining the ranks of folks who write books and blogs like the Coupon Mom dedicated entirely to coupons, but I like to think I know a thing or two!

The main secret to my couponing success comes in three little letters - CVS. While I do clip and use coupons at other stores, I always seem to get the best deals at CVS!

Here is last week's CVS "haul" which I brought home for a total $20.17

Register your ExtraCare card online at CVS' website and receive coupons by email. My $10 off $40 or more coupon was a big help in last week's deal. Remember that if you have other coupons, the CVS money-off coupon can be applied before those other coupons. (For example, my total came to about $42 before coupons, they took of the $10 off $40 coupon and I was still able to use other coupons).

(2) Print Coupons In Store

Make sure that your first stop every time you visit CVS is at the price-scanner and coupon printer where you can print additional coupons with your card. These CVS store coupons can be combined with manufacturer's coupons and offer great additional deals. Recently I have gotten 10% off Kotex products, 30% off hand lotion, and my favorite a $3 off $10 Garnier coupon which I combined with several other Garnier manufacturer's coupons for better savings.

(3) Multiple Transactions

While you should certainly be courteous of people behind you in line, don't be afraid to do multiple transactions, they are the key to great savings at CVS. Multiple transactions will allow you to best use those ExtraCare bucks that you earn when shopping sales. Part of my success last week came from breaking up my transactions to that the $10 in ECB I received could be used toward other items I was buying. I bought enough in one transaction to generate the ECBs and then did a second transaction in order to use those ExtraCare bucks immediately. After all, who wants to lose free money? (4) CVS Deal Blogs

Another great resource when coupon shopping at CVS is the blogs dedicated to doing exactly that! They will tell you great deal scenarios and often have pictures of the next week's ad up well before you receive your Sunday paper. I <3 CVS is a blog dedicated exclusively to CVS but simply google "CVS coupon matchups" and you will find many other blogs discussing CVS deals!

Happy Couponing!

And I am curious readers - Do you coupon? Want to try your hand at couponing at CVS? I am giving away a $5 CVS gift card to one of my readers! To enter please leave a comment answering one of these questions:

What is your favorite store to coupon at? What are your best coupon tips?

This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own, as is the cost of the giveaway. I will choose the winner at random on Sunday April 12th, I reserve the right to cancel the giveaway if there are insufficient entries. ﻿

I am still a day short and getting posts for A, B and likely C all up today! I was a little late to the party this year so I never got hooked in to the Linky List but I am having fun with this anyway.

What are some of my favorite B things?

Budgets, Bagels and Blogs

Budgets

I have been slacking in the budget world the past few months, but I plan to get back on track because I have to say I love the freedom that comes with having a budget! I love the guilt free spending of stopping for an iced coffee and knowing I can afford it, or being able to make an extra payment on my student loans :) Some of my favorite tools/websites for budgets are:

This one doesn't really fit in with the trend of links that are going on with my other two Bs, but I still enjoy bagels. Specifically I love French Toast Bagels with Maple Cream Cheese from a little café near where I work! If you are from Western MA it is definitely worth popping into Holyoke for a visit to the Dam Café.

Blogs

Since one of my goals in the AtoZ challenge is to build and participate in community, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite blogs. It is an eclectic list, but these (in no special order) are the blogs I find myself visiting most frequently.